See the post below and leave a reason why you want to win one of the books.
Leave your email addy on that post and I'll enter your name.
Woohoo, summer reads for free!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
GIVEAWAY? All Right!
LET'S GIVE AWAY A COUPLE BOOKS...
First Time Authors with punch!
Friend Me by John Faubion
If you're a teckkiem you'll love this 'online' look at how our lives have gotten way too
attached to social media and what that can mean to relationships
The Mistaken Heiress by Shelba Shelton Nivens
She thought the land belonged to her after her father's death, but she's surprised to learn it's been sold. Will the man give her back her land, or will she have to give up her dream?
For Such a Time by Kate Breslin
A Jewish woman is saved from being shot, but will her life be worse as secretary to the commandant of a German camp? Is he a Nazi she should fear, or is God directing her to the camp?
Let me know why one of these books would interest you,
and I'll toss your email addy in the hat for a chance.
Happy summer reading.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
LET ME SEE YOU FIVE!
Veronica, Karin, Tammy, Misty, and Piper:
Shoot me your pitches, blurbs if you have them, synopses, and first five pages!
Everyone did an amazing job! So if you aren't one of the five for five, then be one of the rest for one.
Everyone else, feel free to send me your pitches, blurbs, synopses and first page of your proposal.
LET'S GET EVERYONE READY FOR CONFERENCE!
Shoot me your pitches, blurbs if you have them, synopses, and first five pages!
Everyone did an amazing job! So if you aren't one of the five for five, then be one of the rest for one.
Everyone else, feel free to send me your pitches, blurbs, synopses and first page of your proposal.
LET'S GET EVERYONE READY FOR CONFERENCE!
Monday, June 16, 2014
FIRST CHAPTER/PITCH CONTEST/WORKSHOP/Join Us With Your Pitch!
WOOHOO PITCH MONDAY…
Yup, it’s that time of year again when writers are working on their pitches and proposals for the conference season. CONFERENCES GALORE!
Post your 25-30 word pitches right here, and at the end of the day I'll pick my top five to crit more for you!
Post your 25-30 word pitches right here, and at the end of the day I'll pick my top five to crit more for you!
With conferences just on the horizon, thought you might like a chance to bounce ideas off this noggin. So today and tomorrow, send me your email addy with a short pitch, and
I'll connect with five of you whose pitches hooked me
to have a look at first 5 pages to help get you ready to pitch at conference. Anything to help you get your foot in that editor's/agent's door this summer or fall.
So? Any takers?
I'll also pick one person to receive a free book: Kate Breslin’s, For Such a Time.
SO IT'S A TWOFER!
GOTTA LOVE A TWOFER!
What does a good pitch look like? A PITCH IS A STRONG HOOK, a teaser, enough to make the reader drool a bit and want to read more. Look over the SIX below and see if you think the pitches are strong, weak, or could be a lot better with a few tweaks and twists:
1) A spiritually scarred FBI agent pursues a serial killer who's using the Old Testament as his instruction manual.
2) The hunted Feravolk are counting on a seventeen-year-old, dagger-wielding, storm-detecting orphan to save their race. Maybe they should have thought of that before they killed her family.
3) Will a girl find love in time or will she forever fight God’s grace?
4) Alienated by her Catholic-Protestant heritage, Gina Gallucci despairs of finding a place to belong, even at her hometown's canteen for World War Two servicemen in Dennison, Ohio.
5) An innocent woman convicted of murder meets a reformed ex-con who’s out on parole. Either they work together to expose the truth, or die trying.
6) With one day left before Jason is put to death, can she trust God with her plans and her pain?
SO TAKE A SHOT! LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDY AND YOUR PITCH IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. BE BRAVE…FOLKS WILL BE KIND BUT HELP EACH OTHER BY OFFERING SUGGESTIONS.
BE HONEST, BUT REMEMBER TO BE KIND EVEN WITH CRITICISM, ANYONE CAN YELL, “THAT’S HORRIBLE, YOU IDIOT!” J
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Monday! Pitch Contest...Pitches and First Chapters
Monday! Monday! Monday!
Let's see those pitches in preparation for the conferences coming up.
Monday, I'll be available to interact with all of you on your pitches. Here are the ground rules:
1) 20-30 words max, less if you're really brilliant
2) Tell us the overall theme of your story in these 20-30 words
3) Grab the reader's interest right away, don't go on and on
4) Tease us so much it hurts!
5) Chime in on other participants' pitches, the purpose here is to help authors get their pitches ready for submission at future conferences, and the more we can interact, the stronger the pitches should get.
I will pick the five best at the end of the day Monday to look at the synopses of those FIVE THAT INTRIGUE ME THE MOST just from their pitches. I'll do a quick overall critique of your synopses and first chapters.
SO! It's a contest, too!
Bring your friends and your friends' friends!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
GIVING AWAY BOOKS IS SO MUCH FUN!
GIVING AWAY BOOKS IS SO MUCH FUN!
I’m so excited! It never gets old. My fifth book with Heartsong released June 1st, and like always, I want to give some away.
But when the master of Kent Park takes in the orphaned daughter of a tenant, Jonathan doesn't expect his young charge to be a stunning woman. Or for a predatory relative to lay claim to her. Marriage may be the only way to protect Payton from an unthinkable fate.
Payton Whittard knows her marriage to Jonathan is about safety, not love. But the feelings that soon arise during their arrangement are anything but safe. Still, there's something about her handsome protector that makes her trust him with her life. Can Payton trust him with her heart, as well?
Excerpt:
… In spite of her mother's cautions to the contrary, Payton stared. The long, jagged scar that ran across his cheek and through his lip she'd only ever seen from a distance. But it didn't distract from his dark good looks. Silently, he mounted his horse and adjusted the bit. She wondered at the source of his injury, but good manners prevented her inquiring.
He reached up, stippled the scar with tense fingertips, then glanced once more in her direction before nudging the monster's sides. His eyes changed…flickering sparks before his cape swirled around both of them like great black wings. She fancied herself witness to some exotic flying creature, half horse, half frighteningly mysterious man. Her heart skipped a beat from the way he sat his mount as if the two became one the second he fell into the saddle. Fanciful thinking, her mother's voice echoed in her head.
Though the young master Lambrick had been nearing twenty when old Master Kent passed away in his sleep, she'd been just a child at the time. She remembered his gloomy features when first he was introduced to her father. Angry perhaps, but angry at what? He had just inherited a great fortune. The rich were a funny lot. For the past ten years she had paid particular attention to staying out of his way.
With the fright behind her, she condemned her laziness and tucked her skirt once again into the waistband. Hopefully no one else would come along. Mother continually warned her to behave like a lady whenever she was out, but stumbling over the heaviness of a straggling, wet skirt didn't make sense.
A glance toward the cottage brought her up short—no time for more daydreams. Her parents would be arriving any minute after a day in Colchester, and hot tea must be prepared. While she hurried to the house, she continued to gaze over her shoulder in Lambrick's direction. Out of breath, she skirted the stone path and sprinted straight for the door. One last glimpse showed him at the crest of the hill overlooking his vast property. A dark silhouette, frightening and out of reach. Out of reach, but not out of mind.
Busy with her duties, Payton watched the afternoon sun come and go. Dusk settled across the valley without a sign of her parents. Father or no father, chores must be finished. As the dimming light scaled the peaks, she fed the puppies and nestled them onto freshly heaped straw next to their mother, Chloe. How her mother disliked that she helped her father raise the hounds.
She milked Lila, the Guernsey, and replated the meat, fresh bread and apples she had planned for their noon meal. She shivered at her parents' unusual absence. Any minute now, father's capable hands should appear on the reins while Mother jostled her baby brother, Timothy, on the same ample lap that had comforted her as a child.
Fire snapped in the grate and she rubbed her hands together, forcing warmth into her fingers. It was strangely cold even for this late in October. Or was she merely feeling a chill because of her parents' tardiness? She leaned her head on her palms and peeked through the window at the far side of the table. She opened a book, but before she set to reading, a solitary figure passed by and she heard the crackle of leaves under heavy feet. A rap at the door. When she gazed through the window again, she spied the outline of a big man.
Without her parents at home, she hesitated. Finally, she eased the door just a crack and then opened it when she recognized Mr. Kenny, head groomsman for Kent Park. He clapped weathered hands together and slapped his arms against the night chill until she opened the door wider and motioned him in. "Mr. Kenny? What are you doing here?"
Hat in hand and with head bowed, he stood for a moment, shifting from foot to foot, saying nothing. Then he reached for her hands. His frown quickly gave way to compassion. A shaky voice pressed through his lips and punctuated each word. "I'm sorry, child. That I am. You'd better sit ya down."
She gazed into his weathered face. Her heart hammered at her own fear clearly reflected in his eyes.
"I have bad news for ya."
He reached up, stippled the scar with tense fingertips, then glanced once more in her direction before nudging the monster's sides. His eyes changed…flickering sparks before his cape swirled around both of them like great black wings. She fancied herself witness to some exotic flying creature, half horse, half frighteningly mysterious man. Her heart skipped a beat from the way he sat his mount as if the two became one the second he fell into the saddle. Fanciful thinking, her mother's voice echoed in her head.
Though the young master Lambrick had been nearing twenty when old Master Kent passed away in his sleep, she'd been just a child at the time. She remembered his gloomy features when first he was introduced to her father. Angry perhaps, but angry at what? He had just inherited a great fortune. The rich were a funny lot. For the past ten years she had paid particular attention to staying out of his way.
With the fright behind her, she condemned her laziness and tucked her skirt once again into the waistband. Hopefully no one else would come along. Mother continually warned her to behave like a lady whenever she was out, but stumbling over the heaviness of a straggling, wet skirt didn't make sense.
A glance toward the cottage brought her up short—no time for more daydreams. Her parents would be arriving any minute after a day in Colchester, and hot tea must be prepared. While she hurried to the house, she continued to gaze over her shoulder in Lambrick's direction. Out of breath, she skirted the stone path and sprinted straight for the door. One last glimpse showed him at the crest of the hill overlooking his vast property. A dark silhouette, frightening and out of reach. Out of reach, but not out of mind.
Busy with her duties, Payton watched the afternoon sun come and go. Dusk settled across the valley without a sign of her parents. Father or no father, chores must be finished. As the dimming light scaled the peaks, she fed the puppies and nestled them onto freshly heaped straw next to their mother, Chloe. How her mother disliked that she helped her father raise the hounds.
She milked Lila, the Guernsey, and replated the meat, fresh bread and apples she had planned for their noon meal. She shivered at her parents' unusual absence. Any minute now, father's capable hands should appear on the reins while Mother jostled her baby brother, Timothy, on the same ample lap that had comforted her as a child.
Fire snapped in the grate and she rubbed her hands together, forcing warmth into her fingers. It was strangely cold even for this late in October. Or was she merely feeling a chill because of her parents' tardiness? She leaned her head on her palms and peeked through the window at the far side of the table. She opened a book, but before she set to reading, a solitary figure passed by and she heard the crackle of leaves under heavy feet. A rap at the door. When she gazed through the window again, she spied the outline of a big man.
Without her parents at home, she hesitated. Finally, she eased the door just a crack and then opened it when she recognized Mr. Kenny, head groomsman for Kent Park. He clapped weathered hands together and slapped his arms against the night chill until she opened the door wider and motioned him in. "Mr. Kenny? What are you doing here?"
Hat in hand and with head bowed, he stood for a moment, shifting from foot to foot, saying nothing. Then he reached for her hands. His frown quickly gave way to compassion. A shaky voice pressed through his lips and punctuated each word. "I'm sorry, child. That I am. You'd better sit ya down."
She gazed into his weathered face. Her heart hammered at her own fear clearly reflected in his eyes.
"I have bad news for ya."
Feel free to leave your email addy below and if I draw your name from the hat, I’ll send you a copy of Bride by Necessity.
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